Resist Corporatism By Supporting Left Forum

Without your assistance however, the Left Forum's conference's future is in serious jeopardy.

[Op-Ed: On Media]

I write you at a time of unparalleled national trauma.

The banks have been rewarded for bringing on the Great Recession--a Depression here in Michigan.

When the real statistics of unemployment are revealed, almost a third of our nation is out of work, no longer looking for work or employed in part time jobs they cannot survive on. The new administration should have ended the eviction of millions of people from their homes.

It should have stopped the barbarous reality that more and more are not earning enough to get by with dignity. We have no reason to celebrate Washington's generosity to the greedy.

As to making this country what we the people want it to be, our democracy's representatives do not want to move beyond pro-capitalist compromises and misdirected military, environmental, and economic policies.

That is why this year's Left Forum - which will take place on March 19-21 at Pace University, across from mayor Michael Bloomberg's City Hall office, is so important.

The theme of the event "The Center Cannot Hold: Rekindling the Radical Imagination" could not have been better chosen. The Right and Wall Street have plenty of funds at their disposal and are pushing a "populist" line that exploits the growing anti-capitalist sentiment by misdirecting anger to reactionary ends.

The administration has no critique of capitalism to speak of.

As the largest yearly gathering of the broad array of progressives, radicals and other concerned citizens, Left Forum is one of those vital places that offers alternatives to this dangerous political-intellectual vacuum.

It brings together thousands of activists, intellectuals, trouble makers and questioners of the Crap We Are Told.

But a funny thing happened on the way to this year's Forum - everyone thought with the election of Barack Obama our work was done, we could go home, and we wouldn't have to contribute our hard-earned bucks to things like Left Forum anymore.

And then the President went to West Point and surrendered to the Generals. Was that enough of a jolt for you? Do you think our work is over? No, my friends, it has just begun.

Without your assistance however, the conference's future is in serious jeopardy. Admission fees cover only a portion of all of the cost involved. While it is imperative to keep fees low, so that people can afford to come, the costs of running this huge conference continue to escalate. Many of you getting this letter come to this crucial event, and understand how valuable it is.

A vital progressive movement needs Left Forum and Left Forum needs your support. I'm doing all I can to help it continue, but I can't, and won't do it alone. Please take a moment now and write a check to Left Forum. Contributions are tax deductible, they're accepted from all 50 states (and you, too, Canada) and they are gluten-free.